Three Cities in One

A camel and her approximately one-day-old calf. My husband captured this beautiful scene on his first weekend trip into the Nubian desert

Today marks the 17th day since my husband left to start a new contract in the Sudan. (You can read about his departure here) He has resumed expat life easily while I am still struggling to get used to him being away. After 8 months at home (a first in 9 years of him being away), I find the house very quiet, day and night and of course, now when my globes blow, now I have to ask someone to replace them for me!

However, he phones me regularly and as we both love nature, he is able to tell me about the many different birds he is seeing on his trips out into the field. The first day he ventured into the desert, he saw and photographed a camel and her day-old baby.

Note: Tethering domestic camels is the local way of keeping them free-ranging rather than tying them to a post (thank goodness). They can graze freely without going too far, but they cannot kick each other. Just prior to my post, I read about this on a fellow blogger, Esther Garvi's blog which you can see here

The Sudan has a low annual rainfall; its weather is charatarised by sandstorms.

As with many African cities, in Khartoum you are not allowed to take photographs. My husband, being the most law-abiding person I have ever known, will not even take his camera when he goes shopping in the large, well-stocked supermarkets. Now me... So he has sent me a few photos taken from the top of his apartment and I have to be satisfied with that. (Until I visit him, that is, Ha;)

The Blue Nile runs along Khartoum on the Western side. The city comes to a point at the confluence of the White and Blue Niles. Its population has grown to over 5 million people. Khartoum, together with two other cities. Omdurman and Khartoum North (Bahri) – these cities are jointly called the tri-capital, constitute the National Capital of the Republic of Sudan.

The climate is mainly tropical. Summer months are from March to June, with temperatures in May (the hottest month) reaching 38°C/90°F. Autumn arrives in mid-July until end of September. Winter, the best time of the year, lasts from October to March, with temperatures of 24°C/75°F. This is also the best time to visit Khartoum and enjoy its tourism activities. Khartoum at sunset, taken from the rooftop of my husband's apartment

I don’t think my husband will find much time to formally tour the city, but he recounts various events and happenings as he works in and around the city, which I will post about until I go and visit him later this year.

Salvation is Available to Everyone

In Romans 5:1-11, we learn that we were “utterly helpless” (vs 6); “sinners” and “His enemies” (vs 10). It was precisely when we were in this condition that God decided to solve our problem of sin for us. “But God showed His great love by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” (Rom 5:8) He loved us so much that He sent His Son to die on the cross to set us free from the power of sin. We cannot be any worse than this letter to the Romans describes us, so God’s love and acceptance of us can never be negated by our failures. With a Saviour like that we can confidently surrender our lives to Him.

“So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God – all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us in making us friends of God.” (Romans 5:11)

So if you feel you are too sinful and have too much against you from your past, stop right there. All you have to do is go to the cross of Calvary, lay your burdens at Christ’s feet and hand over your life completely to Him. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

May God bless you as you come to Him and accept His grace.

Easy Lentil Stew

Place all ingredients in pot and season with cumin
Cover with enough water, stir and allow to simmer

Viola! Easy and tasty lentil stew

OK, so has anybody noticed?

Who has realised a certain pattern emerging in my recipe posts?

Mmm?

So what's up?

I’ll tell you: this is the third time in ten days that I've posted a diet-friendly recipe.

The reason is I’ve rejoined a weight loss club. Or should I say: I joined a weight loss club in August last year, achieved my goal weight in six weeks and went onto a maintenance program.

My husband returned in mid-September and was home for almost six months. I never went back during this time, even though I only have to “weigh in” once a month to stay on as a member. You see, meetings are held in another town which entails a 96km/60mile round trip. So, with all the travelling my husband and I did while he was home, going for job interviews, going on holiday/vacation (for nine days in November) and once visiting our children en route to his mother’s wedding , there was no time for me to go to the meetings. However, the group leader of this weight loss group who knew my situation and that I’d be back again in the New Year, advised me to pay as a life member and my original registration would not become null and void.

Eventually Monday this week, I travelled to the meeting to weigh in and find out if there are any new ideas, recipes, competitions etc that are normally on offer. So now I am, once again, motivated to remain on my healthy eating plan. Apart from posting many tasty and guilt-free recipes, I’ll also be sharing, from time to time, tips I’ve gleaned at the meetings and from this weight loss club’s magazine.

Now for my recipe.

This is my own recipe, calculated to incorporate many delicious vegetables, simmered with green or brown lentils which versatile legume forms a large part of my protein intake. It is not so much a recipe as instructions on how to make this healthy, totally fat-free dish.

Easy Lentil Stew
(Serves 2)
Cooking time: 1hour 30 minutes

100g dried green or brown lentils
¼ aubergine, chopped
¼ butternut squash, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
½ onion, sliced
1 tomato, halved
¼ sweet potato (yam), chopped
4-5 baby potatoes, washed, with skins

1 teaspoon Cumin (jeera) powder
Salt and ground black pepper
Enough water to cover

Place lentils in a saucepan, add vegetables; add cumin powder

Cover with water

Bring to the boil, turn down; stir

Cover and simmer about 1 hour, stirring occasionally
When the lentils are almost soft, add salt and ground black pepper Continue simmering until lentils and all vegetables (like carrots, potatoes) are soft
Serve with brown wild rice and a green salad

Note: You can reduce the cooking time considerably by using tinned lentils